The Drafter by Kim Harrison

September 1st, 2015 Kimberly Review 63 Comments

1st Sep
The Drafter by Kim Harrison
The Drafter
by Kim Harrison
Series: The Peri Reed Chronicles #1
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon *affiliate
Goodreads
Rating: One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star

Detroit 2030. Double-crossed by the person she loved and betrayed by the covert government organization that trained her to use her body as a weapon, Peri Reed is a renegade on the run. Don’t forgive and never forget has always been Peri’s creed. But her day job makes it difficult: she is a drafter, possessed of a rare, invaluable skill for altering time, yet destined to forget both the history she changed and the history she rewrote. When Peri discovers her name on a list of corrupt operatives, she realizes that her own life has been manipulated by the agency. She joins forces with a mysterious rogue soldier in a deadly race to piece together the truth about her final task, unable to trust even herself.

FED-THE-NERD KICKASS urban SUSPENSE scifi

The Drafter is the first book in the Peri Reed Chronicles a new series by Kim Harrison whose Hollows series I adored. The Drafter is a science fiction suspense thriller filled with gadgets and covert agencies set against the backdrop of Detroit in the year 2030. It offers a cat and mouse game where Peri Reed must decide whom to trust.

Espresso Review: captivated, suspenseful and action-packed

Recommendation: I am not typically a novella fan and honestly usually skip them.  However, I strongly recommend reading the novella Sideswiped before tackling the Drafter. It takes place five years earlier and personally believe it gives us essential insight into the world and characters.

Caffeinated Breakdown of The Drafter

  • World: In Harrison’s new world a small fraction of society has the ability to “draft” or move backwards in time changing history. Set in Detroit in the year 2030 Peri Reed is an agent for Opti, a secret government agency who uses drafters and anchors to handle covert operations for the government. The Alliance is a group determined to stop this agency. A drafter can revert time. However, there are limitations from range to length and it comes with risks. An anchor is the drafter’s partner. They help to stabilize the drafter and aid them in recovering lost memory. I found the concept intriguing and I liked that there were consequences for rewriting time.
  • Plot: Good vs Evil, power plays, and financial gain made this thriller intense and thrusting our heroine into danger. Some in the Opti Agency are corrupt. These operatives are manipulating memories and performing unauthorized operations. Peri discovers her name on a list of corrupt operatives, and soon finds herself in danger. The plot was intense with twist and turns that had me holding my breath. An Alliance operative reaches out to Peri and she must decide whom to trust. Harrison fleshed out the world making the story feel plausible. The pacing and action scenes kept me on edge. With all the action, time shifts and suspense Harrison still managed to weave in humor and colorful characters. Deciding who the good guys were notched up the tension in this clever tale.
  • Characters: Peri Reed in many ways is your typical kick-ass, take-no-prisoner heroine. She is the best of the best and has the stubborn, selfish, opinionated attitude that seems to be a package deal. She strides with purpose and is at times a little cocky. Thankfully she is not a whiner but she does struggle with listening. She tends to dive in headfirst with an “ask questions later” approach. Sound familiar? However, Harrison did a wonderful job of showing us her vulnerable and tender side allowing me to respect the operative and appreciate the woman. Jack is Peri’s lover and I found him to be a smooth talker. She depends on him and trusts him without question. Silas is an operative for the Alliance and the creator of a lot of the technology used. He hopes to save Peri and bring down Opti. Silas is a bit of a rebel but it extremely gifted from technical knowledge to his ability to work as an anchor.The man has problem working outside of the box and defying authority, in fact I think he kind of likes it.  Other secondary characters from Bill, Peri and Jack’s handler, to Fran the leader of the Alliance and her kickass daughter added depth, a little humor and helped amp up the action. While the story was action packed, Harrison’s characters were fully developed with unique voices.
  • Romance: The Drafter has very little romance although Peri does have men in her life. Hints, reveals and an interesting thread hint at a possible romance in this series.
  • Caffeinated Conclusion: The Drafter delivered an exciting introduction to the Peri Reed Chronicles. The world and plot felt plausible and I easily became invested in the key players. The world of drafting and anchors had my geeky side smiling and the dangers that accompany it made me shiver. I felt the story was well paced with twist and turns that kept me engaged. Harrison added humor and banter creating a nice reprieve from the intense scenes. A few twists and revelations added to my overall enjoyment and the tale ended in such a way that it left me eager for the next installment.

The Peri Reed Chronicles

You can pick up Sideswhiped for .99 cents and I recommend reading it first:

Drafter Mood Board Collage

Drafter Collage

Photo of kimbacaffeinate
About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram

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63 Responses to “The Drafter by Kim Harrison”

  1. Melanie Simmons

    I’m so excited to pick this one up. I’m on the waiting list at my library for the audio. I’ve also requested that they purchase Sideswiped on audio (which they did, I love my library), so I can listen to it too. Great review.

  2. MarthaE

    I’m encouraged by your review to get into the series. I followed your advice and picked up Sideswiped. Now I just need to find time to slip it in between NetGalley titles.

  3. Berls

    I’m really looking forward to reading this -have been since Hollows ended. I’m so excited to read your review though, looks like it’s got tons of what I love 🙂

  5. Lark

    Sounds interesting! I like the mix of time travel and secret-agent thriller. I will have to consider this one…

  7. Tyler H Jolley

    I have to say, I’m a huge fan of novella’s. Especially when it comes out after the first book and the author is doing it to tide you over until the next sequel. I almost like getting the real story before the back story. It makes those “ah ha!” moments even sweeter.

    • kimbacaffeinate

      In this case the novella Sideswiped released first sharing events from 5 years prior. The Drafter is a full-length novel that I devoured 🙂 but yes…I have experienced that and it always makes me giddy 🙂

  9. Nick

    Yay! I’m excited that you enjoyed this, Kim. I’ll be trying it once there are more books out in the series.

  12. Angela Adams

    “I am not typically a novella fan” — I wasn’t at one time, but lately I find the shorter read more to my liking. I have time for more stories. Thanks for the post.

  13. Braine Talk Supe

    This series is my first Kim H. read and I love it! I just read Sideswiped, saving this big baby for last this week. I want to soak it in.

    Fab review & love the mood board!

  14. Christy

    Scared me for a second … when I first clicked on your post, the rating images didn’t load. I just said “one-star”. I was like whaaaaaaaaaaaat? Then they loaded and all was right with the world again. lol. Love me some Peri!

  15. Mary Kirkland

    Being able to alter time but not being able to remember what she altered? That would be interesting a suck at the same time. Sounds like a really original idea for a book.

  16. Sophia Rose

    You convinced me with your review of Sideswiped, but your thoughts on this one sealed the deal. I love the idea of a twisty ‘who can I trust’ thriller with such intriguing world building. Thanks!

  17. Ramona

    The world sounds fabulous, definitely a series worth checking out. And seems like a good read, however short. I’m making a little note here 🙂

  18. Jan

    On your recommendation I read the short story, Kimba, and liked it though I was a little confused by the end. I hope everything gets clearer after I start and read The Drafter! You did a great job on the review! It tells me the things I want to know about this book before I start it.

  21. kindlemom1

    So many people are loving this, I can’t wait to read it especially after finally really getting into her other series.

    Wonderful review Kim!

  22. Stormi

    I have this one to review and can’t wait to get to it. I am not normally a Sci-fi kind of person but it sounded interesting and I did what you said and read the novella and I think I am going to really like Peri. 🙂

  23. Jenny

    Sounds like this is a nice blend of things Kim! I like when a dark story or world has humor threaded through it so I don’t get too overwhelmed or the story doesn’t feel too heavy. I definitely need to make time for this one:)

  25. Lexxie

    YAY! I’m so happy you enjoyed The Drafter so much, Kim. I agree that even with all the different plots – big and small – and the storyline, the characters all had their unique voices, and they were well developed, too.
    I can’t wait (oh, I guess I’ll have to!) for the next story in this series to be released. Great review 🙂

  27. Red Iza

    I’ve got Sideswiped ! Just like you I adored The hollows and I simply couldn’t resist this one 🙂 Great review, Kim !

  28. Kristin

    Yes, completely spoiler free! I like your mood board – very cool and a lot of work! I haven’t started this yet but it sounds like it’s exactly what we all expect from Kim 🙂 Super review, woman!!!

  30. blodeuedd

    I am not a fan of having to read a novella before the book. Most of the time the novella makes me not wanna read more, or I do not know about it and miss it

    • Lexxie

      Sorry to butt in here, but I actually read The Drafter without reading Sideswiped first, and I loved The Drafter. So much so that I actually bought and read Sideswiped afterwards. The novella does give some background, but it’s definitely not impossible to read the full novel without it 🙂